Books for Melancholia

[saralynn]

I have been feeling forlorn lately, existentially speaking, and am wondering how others, in terms of reading, approach this problem....if, indeed, it is a problem. (Is the human condition a problem to be solved?)

What kinds of books do YOU read to lift your spirits? Jolly ones? Melancholy ones with happy endings? Philosophy? Poetry? Inspirational? "Spiritual"? Do you indulge your sadness or resist it? Analyze your emotions or let them be?

Any favorite authors?

I'm sort of a wannabe-theist, but spiritually muddled. I've had my fill of intellectual/philosophical debates on religious issues, but always appreciate authors who awaken my spiritual hope, vague as it may be. Emerson was a favorite of mine for a long time, as well as Tolstoy, but modern literature is rather grim.

Thanks in advance...

[108 fountains]

Try reading Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet. It's very short, maybe around 50-60 pages. It charts the heights and depths of the human heart and is spiritual without being religious.

[mal4mac]

I have been feeling forlorn lately, existentially speaking, and am wondering how others, in terms of reading, approach this problem....if, indeed, it is a problem. (Is the human condition a problem to be solved?)

If it is it certainly hasn't been solved yet, if it had word would have got around. I think it's more a condition to be lived with, and some books might give you something that helps you live with it.

What kinds of books do YOU read to lift your spirits? Jolly ones? Melancholy ones with happy endings? Philosophy? Poetry? Inspirational? "Spiritual"? Do you indulge your sadness or resist it? Analyze your emotions or let them be?

Mostly novels, sometimes jolly (Dickens, Pickwick Papers), sometimes not (Hardy, Jude the Obscure) I think it helps to come at this from different angles!

Any favorite authors?

Several, recently "Lord Jim" by Conrad, it's very good on having a big existential problem and learning to live with it (certainly not solving it!)

I'm sort of a wannabe-theist, but spiritually muddled... I've had my fill of intellectual/philosophical debates on religious issues

Why not have a try at stopping wanting to be a theist? Here I think novel reading might be a good relaxation from reading all that religious and philosophical stuff, it was for me. It's a mostly secular form, and although many novels deal with existential questions, you don't really get long intellectual/philosophical debates on religious issues. You also get to see people getting on with life without getting themselves caught up in a religious mess.

Emerson was a favorite of mine for a long time, as well as Tolstoy, ...

Transcendentalism and Tolstoyan Christianity - now there's a recipe for a big religious muddle Have a crack at the three novels I've mentioned here, at least you'll get some relief from religious muddle, and see three different ways to come at existential forlornness from a secular position. Not promising it will help lift the existential forlornness, in the end, but they are cracking stories so you might forget about the muddle for much of the period you're actually reading them. And can we expect much more than that?

[kev67]

An Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton. It is probably very cheap as an ebook. (How's your Latin?)

[mal4mac]

An Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton. It is probably very cheap as an ebook. (How's your Latin?)

The NYRB Classics Paperback with an introduction by William H. Gass is worth buying, it's well edited, has extensive notes, & translates the Latin.

[saralynn]

Try reading Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet. It's very short, maybe around 50-60 pages. It charts the heights and depths of the human heart and is spiritual without being religious.

I read K.G. a loooong time ago. In the 60's, he was often quoted at weddings, especially those that took place on grass and in bare feet.

Yeah....I'm THAT old.

But, y'know....I really should check him out to see him from the perspective of a wilted flowerchild.

[saralynn]

If it is it certainly hasn't been solved yet, if it had word would have got around. I think it's more a condition to be lived with, and some books might give you something that helps you live with it.

I assume it is a condition to be lived with, as well, but you know how it is sometimes.....the right book at the right time can reach into your "perhaps-soul" and make you feel like dancing. Marcus Aurelius did that for me during my gray adolescent years. Suddenly, thinking of myself as courageous and noble made up for the fact that no one asked me to the prom.

Mostly novels, sometimes jolly (Dickens, Pickwick Papers), sometimes not (Hardy, Jude the Obscure) I think it helps to come at this from different angles!

Oh my, Dickens? I never read the Pickwick Papers, but the melodramas left me unmoved. No one seemed like real people to me. They seemed to fall into 3 categories: the virtuous, the villainous and the quaint. I make this claim, but I fully acknowledge I might be an idiot because I am recalling the books from the days in which I had pimples.

Several, recently "Lord Jim" by Conrad, it's very good on having a big existential problem and learning to live with it (certainly not solving it!)

Now this is a book I'd like to read, although I am wary because Heart of Darkness made me feel like I was sinking into a dark lagoon.

Why not have a try at stopping wanting to be a theist? Here I think novel reading might be a good relaxation from reading all that religious and philosophical stuff, it was for me. It's a mostly secular form, and although many novels deal with existential questions, you don't really get long intellectual/philosophical debates on religious issues. You also get to see people getting on with life without getting themselves caught up in a religious mess.

I can't stop wanting to be a theist. It's a disease I developed when I read Aldous Huxley's "Perennial Philosophy". But I agree with you; I have to stop the obsession. I am exhausted arguing with Richard Dawkins, as well as all those theists who keep insisting on debating him. Oh yeah...and Deepak Chopra sets my teeth on edge.

Transcendentalism and Tolstoyan Christianity - now there's a recipe for a big religious muddle Have a crack at the three novels I've mentioned here, at least you'll get some relief from religious muddle, and see three different ways to come at existential forlornness from a secular position. Not promising it will help lift the existential forlornness, in the end, but they are cracking stories so you might forget about the muddle for much of the period you're actually reading them. And can we expect much more than that?

Okay, I will try Lord Jim. If I come back wet and weeping, it will be your fault. Sorry, Thomas Hardy is too gloomy.

[YesNo]

I have been feeling forlorn lately, existentially speaking, and am wondering how others, in terms of reading, approach this problem....if, indeed, it is a problem. (Is the human condition a problem to be solved?)

What kinds of books do YOU read to lift your spirits? Jolly ones? Melancholy ones with happy endings? Philosophy? Poetry? Inspirational? "Spiritual"? Do you indulge your sadness or resist it? Analyze your emotions or let them be?

Any favorite authors?

I think the human condition is an opportunity to be enjoyed with all its sorrow. Mary Oliver's poetry, such as her collection A Thousand Mornings, might help with melancholy. Were I depressed, I would look for a movie in the comedy genre or go for a walk.

Sally Kempton's Awakening Shakti is something I keep going back to. This is a review of the major Hindu goddesses and how to approach them. How does this help melancholia? I don't know, but it comes to mind.

There is also Laura Day's, Welcome to Your Crisis. Her point is to take advantage of the crises that arise.

I'm sort of a wannabe-theist, but spiritually muddled. I've had my fill of intellectual/philosophical debates on religious issues, but always appreciate authors who awaken my spiritual hope, vague as it may be. Emerson was a favorite of mine for a long time, as well as Tolstoy, but modern literature is rather grim.

Thanks in advance...

I'm reading another book by Sally Kempton called Meditation for the Love of It. Since you mentioned theism that came to mind.

[Lykren]

I think the human condition is an opportunity to be enjoyed with all its sorrow.

Easily said, but sometimes enough is enough.

I wouldn't read Lord Jim to assist you through a difficult time, saralynn. It's pretty gloomy, and the ending, if I recall correctly, doesn't leave room for anything brighter. What I would suggest are works like Sense and Sensibility, Twelfth Night, and perhaps a selection of Dickinson's poetry, which ranges from subtly comical to evocative of a range of spiritual matters. Even when she obsesses over her loneliness (which happens often enough) I find that it comforts me and gives me an excuse to not feel bad that I feel bad, if you see what I mean. Best of luck.

[108 fountains]

Yeah....I'm THAT old.

Ha! We're not THAT old yet!

[mal4mac]

I assume it is a condition to be lived with, as well, but you know how it is sometimes.....the right book at the right time can reach into your "perhaps-soul" and make you feel like dancing. Marcus Aurelius did that for me during my gray adolescent years. Suddenly, thinking of myself as courageous and noble made up for the fact that no one asked me to the prom.

Why not read him again? I greatly admire his Meditations, and would highly recommend Epictetus and Seneca along with him. Interesting that Marcus got you dancing! He didn't strike me as a lord of the dance, bit serious for that, but I guess the relief his philosophy can bring may inspire lightness of soul.

Oh my, Dickens? I never read the Pickwick Papers, but the melodramas left me unmoved. No one seemed like real people to me. They seemed to fall into 3 categories: the virtuous, the villainous and the quaint. I make this claim, but I fully acknowledge I might be an idiot because I am recalling the books from the days in which I had pimples.

Again, why not give him another try. If you fancy reading comedies, then Pickwick should be on the list. Harold Bloom says he reads it several times a year to keep him smiling.

Now this is a book I'd like to read, although I am wary because Heart of Darkness made me feel like I was sinking into a dark lagoon.

I think Lord Jim is better book than Heart of Darkness. With HoD I also felt I was sinking into a dark lagoon because it is so obscure. (Still interesting, but obscure!) With LJ there's a similar plot strand, as Jim also finds himself "up the jungle", but there's light rather obscurity. I think the way Jim deals with his problem is uplifting, I was left almost wanting to dance. I did punch the air and shout yes a couple of times.

I can't stop wanting to be a theist. It's a disease I developed when I read Aldous Huxley's "Perennial Philosophy".

Me too, the first/second time through. The third time through I was asking myself why I took it so seriously. I'ver really gone off Huxley, I think my favourite critic John Carey has him tagged: "A fully fledged, fuzzy-brained California mystic."

Okay, I will try Lord Jim. If I come back wet and weeping, it will be your fault. Sorry, Thomas Hardy is too gloomy.

Sorry I will not be accepting any fault I just say what I feel, and if you don't ending up feeling that way all you can do is shrug your shoulders, there is no guarantee.

[mal4mac]

I wouldn't read Lord Jim to assist you through a difficult time, saralynn. It's pretty gloomy, and the ending, if I recall correctly, doesn't leave room for anything brighter. What I would suggest are works like Sense and Sensibility, Twelfth Night, and perhaps a selection of Dickinson's poetry, which ranges from subtly comical to evocative of a range of spiritual matters. Even when she obsesses over her loneliness (which happens often enough) I find that it comforts me and gives me an excuse to not feel bad that I feel bad, if you see what I mean. Best of luck.

Lord Jim helped me through a gloomy time, and thinking back to it continues to help. OK some nice people die nastily in the end - but isn't that's true to life? Maybe it doesn't leave room for anything brighter but it certainly helps me live with the darkness. That said, there's a place for lighter works, and I think your suggestions are excellent. But why not intersperse tragedies with comedies? For instance you could intersperse Shakespeare's comedies with Hamlet and King Lear. Shakespeare is eminently post-Christian so he also gets you away from theistic muddle. Another Greek to read is Epicurus, the stoics aren't much tainted by theism, but Epicurus is the one who explicitly ditches all that nonsense.

Thinking about the original question, I think melancholy works with *bad* endings lift my spirits the most (Lord Jim, Hamlet...), they are generally more true to life, and as the Bard says:

Golden lads and girls all must,
As chimney sweepers come to dust.

Still, is life so bad when it contains such poetry!

[saralynn]

I think the human condition is an opportunity to be enjoyed with all its sorrow. Mary Oliver's poetry, such as her collection A Thousand Mornings, might help with melancholy. Were I depressed, I would look for a movie in the comedy genre or go for a walk.

Hmmmm......Mary Oliver. I must investigate her work because I know many people who sing her praises and I have only read an occasional poem or two. I do like Christian Wiman, but he is so much like me in terms of his endless doubt/faith inner quarrels that it almost irritates me.

Sally Kempton's Awakening Shakti is something I keep going back to. This is a review of the major Hindu goddesses and how to approach them. How does this help melancholia? I don't know, but it comes to mind.

Interesting. I was a Hindu for a while, as well as a Quaker, a Buddhist, a Sufi, a Catholic, an Emersonian, and a Jew. (Jews are, not surprisingly, usually a trifle annoyed when I mention that I was a Jew for 6 months) I also failed a Course in Miracles. For some obscure reason, the members evoked in me a desire to curse. See.....I told you I took Aldous Huxley seriously!

There is also Laura Day's, Welcome to Your Crisis. Her point is to take advantage of the crises that arise.

I find that the best self-help books tend to be of the Buddhist variety. The Four Noble Truths have always made complete sense to me. Yes, life IS suffering, which I occasionally forget because of the "hunger for happiness" culture we live in.

I'm reading another book by Sally Kempton called Meditation for the Love of It. Since you mentioned theism that came to mind.

Sounds good.....uh....does this mean I will have to meditate? Meditation always makes me itch. I think it may be Satan. (joke...don't start feeling nervous)

[saralynn]

Why not read him again? I greatly admire his Meditations, and would highly recommend Epictetus and Seneca along with him. Interesting that Marcus got you dancing! He didn't strike me as a lord of the dance, bit serious for that, but I guess the relief his philosophy can bring may inspire lightness of soul.

Because Marcus believed in God, although I don't think he called it God. Maybe "Fate"? I suffer from post-modern angst, although, at this point, it may be post-post modern angst.

Again, why not give him another try. If you fancy reading comedies, then Pickwick should be on the list. Harold Bloom says he reads it several times a year to keep him smiling.

Okay. It shall be done. I shall read 25 pages of the Pickwick Papers and see how it goes.

Harold Bloom! My friend and I had a fantasy about seeking him out and paying homage to him, which would have not only been rude, but hateful to him, for obvious reasons, but also because he was exhausted at the point we were hatching this plan. Okay, it wasn't a REAL plan. As I recall, it involved carrying placards saying "We heart Harold!". Eventually, we sobered up.

I think Lord Jim is better book than Heart of Darkness. With HoD I also felt I was sinking into a dark lagoon because it is so obscure. (Still interesting, but obscure!) With LJ there's a similar plot strand, as Jim also finds himself "up the jungle", but there's light rather obscurity. I think the way Jim deals with his problem is uplifting, I was left almost wanting to dance. I did punch the air and shout yes a couple of times.

You've convinced me. I shall give it a try. I will let you know how it goes. I don't care if good people die at the end. That's called realism.

Me too, the first/second time through. The third time through I was asking myself why I took it so seriously. I'ver really gone off Huxley, I think my favourite critic John Carey has him tagged: "A fully fledged, fuzzy-brained California mystic."

That is hilarious! Especially when you consider that he took LSD and had passages from the Egyptian Book of the Dead" read to him on his deathbed. Or is that not true? I can't remember. Whatever. It SHOULD be true. I don't think it was Huxley that interested me as much as the mystics he quoted. It led me to Ramakrishna, the Sufis and, my fave, Meister Eckhart.

Sorry I will not be accepting any fault I just say what I feel, and if you don't ending up feeling that way all you can do is shrug your shoulders, there is no guarantee.

I was joking. Of course, all we can do is make suggestions and I appreciated yours. Thanks!

[saralynn]

Easily said, but sometimes enough is enough.

I wouldn't read Lord Jim to assist you through a difficult time, saralynn. It's pretty gloomy, and the ending, if I recall correctly, doesn't leave room for anything brighter. What I would suggest are works like Sense and Sensibility, Twelfth Night, and perhaps a selection of Dickinson's poetry, which ranges from subtly comical to evocative of a range of spiritual matters. Even when she obsesses over her loneliness (which happens often enough) I find that it comforts me and gives me an excuse to not feel bad that I feel bad, if you see what I mean. Best of luck.

Thanks. You are right....especially about Dickinson. It would be comforting to obsess over my loneliness with someone who is also obsessing over their loneliness, but in an eloquent, not snivelly way (that is not a word, but it should be) I feel inclined to write the following admission in a teeny-tiny font, but I have a hard time reading Shakespeare's plays. I always need one of those "this is what that word means" dictionaries at hand. However, this is not a problem when I attend a play. Also, I do like various excerpts and soliloquys.